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Tag Archives: Extremity

Note: For anyone that didn’t know, I have become an avid comic book reader over the past two years. This adds to my list of traits that make me ridiculously desirable to women. This short piece on Extremity was intended for comicommand, since the site is not being updated for the moment (but will return) I am posting it here.

Image Comic’s first new comic of the year proves to be another promising addition to Image’s stable and comic book offerings as a whole. Writer and artist Daniel Warren Johnson (Space Mullet) brings a fictional world replete with warring clans. The main character, Thea, is a human female whose mother was killed by a clan known as the Paznina. In addition to killing her mother, they also cut off Thea’s right hand. Along with her hand, Thea loses her skills as an artist and a cornerstone of her identity. Johnson intended Thea’s dilemma to mirror his own fears of losing the extremity that makes him who he is.

The first issue introduces us to Thea, as well has her brother, Rollo and her father Jerome, the leader of their clan. While Jerome expects his son to be his successor, the first issue makes it clear that Thea is more likely to do so. In relatable fashion, Rollo is hesitant to engage in the violence that is needed to survive in their world. While he struggles to kill one man, his father wears a mask embedded with the teeth of fallen foes. Thea shows signs of struggling with violence as well, but is a much more capable warrior than her brother. Since her father acknowledges her skill, but is still insistent on Rollo becoming the next clan leader, it is likely that sexism plays a role in their clan’s hierarchy.

The final issue ends with Thea getting revenge on the man who cut off her hand, one of the first acts in an all out-war with the Paznina. Johnson made it clear he wants to explore how a family will develop under such circumstances, and it is clear that the members involved can’t get through one violent act after another without changing fundamentally. In this sense, the comic reminds me slightly of The Walking Dead, which consistently focuses on how people adapt to a new and harsher world. Of course, this isn’t unique to The Walking Dead. This question is central to most post-apocalyptic tales and/or tales of revenge. However, it is interesting to see it focus on a female character.

The artwork is aided greatly by the shading and colouring bestowed by Mike Spicer. The artwork itself is the weakest part of the comic in my opinion, but like any series, I want to read more issues before I pass a more definitive judgment on it. The dialogue can also be clichéd at times, and overly expository at others. The characters didn’t need to call each other “brother” or “sister” for us to know they’re related, more subtle cues were present in the comic’s pages. However, there were only a few lines that I had gripes with and they didn’t dissuade me from reading the next issue when it is available.